


Love is Love

by midnight5776



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Asexual!Peter, Bisexual!James, Bisexual!Remus, Gay!Sirius, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, peter is really sweet, voldemort never exsisted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 08:50:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7567882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight5776/pseuds/midnight5776
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The marauders spend every waking moment together, which makes it hard to date outside of their group. After several failed attempts at dating others, the marauders end up together in a relationship. Covers from the first year of Hogwarts to far beyond school.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mega Bed

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspiried by the Linny squad and is completely dedicated to them (and my brother). JKR owns the characters. Hope you enjoy!

Almost instantly, the marauders clicked. Within the first few months of their first year, they were all joined at the hip. They ate every meal together, studied together (until Remus and Peter left to really study), and went to classes together.

This wasn’t problematic for the first two years. Even once they found out about Remus being a werewolf, they spent just as much time together (after Sirius calmed down). It only became a problem in third year, when one of the marauders got their first girlfriend.

Sirius started dating Dorcas Meadows in the fall of the marauder’s third year. She was lovely and all, but she had trouble understanding why Sirius didn’t want to spend as much time with her as he did with his friends. He ate lunch with the marauders, not Dorcas. He studied with Remus, not Dorcas. He talked about quidditch with James, not Dorcas. When he stayed up late hanging out in the common room, he was with the marauders. He only spent time with Dorcas on preplanned dates.

The relationship lasted a surprisingly long three months before crumbling into a screaming match that the entirety of Gryffindor would remember.

“You never want to spend time with me!” Dorcas shouted at the climax of the argument in the middle of the common room one evening. “Do you even like me?”

“Of course I do! I just like my friends too, Dorcas. Merlin, are you really going to make me choose?” Sirius demanded, his Black temper showing.

“I’m not asking you to choose! You already chose them! I never see you. It’s like you’re dating them instead of me!” With that, Dorcas stormed off and refused to look in Sirius’s direction until after winter break.

\--

“Guys,” Remus cleared his throat in the middle of the fourth year boys’ dormitory one fall evening. “I’d like to make an announcement.”

Normally, one of the marauders would harass him for sounding so stiff, but Remus looked slightly green and was trembling. He was playing with his fingers and avoiding eye contact.

“Uhh, sure,” James said and sat on the edge of his own bed.

“What’s left to announce? Do you have another secret besides your furry one?” Sirius teased lightly in a hope that his friend would loosen up. It didn’t work.

Peter sat up as well and stretched. “You can tell us anything.” Peter was always honest with Remus and he appreciated it.

“It’s just that…umm…” Remus took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I think I like blokes. I mean—I don’t not like girls. I like both? I’m not really sure all the logistics of it all yet, but yeah. I understand if things are different now, but I didn’t—“

“Oh Merlin, shut up Remus,” Sirius scoffed. “I personally don’t care about what you like in your partner’s pants. Anyone else here care?” He asked the group and both men shook their heads, though James was smiling proudly at Remus. “Perfect. Looks like everything is all good then.”

“While we are on the subject though,” Sirius began once everyone had started to move on and continue their nights. “You all know how I dated Dorcas and it didn’t work out?”

“You mean it went to shit?” James laughed. Their entire year had eventually heard about the fight and it still came up occasionally.

“Yes, that. Well, I realized one day when I had my hand up Dorcas’s shirt—“

“Was that detail really necessary?” Peter demanded, but Sirius didn’t pause for anyone.

“—that breasts really aren’t what we make them out to be. I don’t think I like them much,” Sirius concluded. A smug smile was on his lips as he surveyed his friends’ responses.

“So…you don’t like boobs?” James asked, slightly confused.

“I don’t think I’m a big fan of any part of female anatomy, actually Jamesie.”

Remus broke out laughing. “One of us is bisexual and the other is gay.” He fell back onto his bed. “And here I was worrying about being the gay friend of the group!”

“No need to laugh at my expense, Remus,” Sirius replied with a roll of his eyes.

“Today’s been rather…informative,” James said slowly. A smile crept onto his lips and soon they all started laughing.

\--

During fifth year, the marauders minus Remus finished up the task of becoming unregistered animagi so that Remus wouldn’t have to be alone any longer during the full moon. He, of course, was furious for about ten seconds when he found out his friends did something so dangerous, but that quickly left as gratitude settled in.

“You lot are absolutely mental—just saying,” Remus muttered under his breath as his three best friends squished him in a group hug.

\--

“Okay, I think I’ve realized something,” James stated suddenly late one night of their fifth year.

“Prongs, will you shut up? Its 1 am and—“

He was running his hands through his hair recklessly, more than the average amount. “I’m having a dramatic moment here, Padfoot, so no. I will not shut up. Now,” James continued, “I’ve been thinking quite a bit on the subject and I think I like blokes just like Remus does. I still like Lily Evans, of course—“

“Of course,” Peter groaned into his pillow, but was heard perfectly in the quiet of the evening.

“—but I quite like guys too.” James finished and let the information settle.

“You aren’t getting a special moment,” Remus muttered, “it’s late, we have class in the morning, and now the majority of us are some type of gay. It’s lost its novelty.”

“Well then, I’m sorry I decided to share such an important part of my—“

“Merlin, Prongs! Thank you for coming out to us even though it’s far too late for this shite. We are all proud of you—“

“I’m not,” Peter muttered.

“—for sharing such sensitive information with us. Blah blah blah, goodnight,” Sirius ended the conversation quite firmly and the room returned to silence as the marauders fell asleep.

“He’s always so grumpy when he’s sleepy,” James said under his breath before falling unconscious.

\--

They were a month into their sixth year at Hogwarts. The marauders all moped around their room, waiting for the first years to grow tired of the excitement the common room offered at the start of term. “Maybe the marauders just weren’t meant for dating,” Remus offered up an idea.

“We are destined to live a lonely life, just the four of us,” Sirius cried out dramatically and collapsed onto his bed.

“I mean, why would anyone want to date us?” Peter offered honestly. “We only spend time together. While I enjoy that plenty, don’t girlfriends or boyfriends want the majority of our attention? If I had any idea that Mary McDonald would get so upset about us eating meals together, I wouldn’t have asked her out.”

“This seems to be a common theme,” Sirius grunted, still feigning dead on his bed.

“Guys…guys I think I have an idea,” Remus said very slowly, as if the words were sensitive material. At this point in their lives, they knew that Remus’s ideas tended to be the most brilliant and most dangerous ones they came across.

“Well, what is it, Moony?” Peter sighed. Remus was brilliant, but there was no solution for their issue besides not spending time together and Peter couldn’t stand that idea.

“What if we just date each other?” The words hung heavily in their now quiet dormitory. “I mean, the majority of us are into the same gender we all are—sorry Peter—which works really well. We already spend all our time together.” Remus let out a heavy sigh. “It sounded better in my mind…”

“No,” James said after a long moment, “it sounded good out loud, too.”

Sirius sat up suddenly. “I’d do it if you all wanted to,” he admitted, his voice edging on eager.

The others glanced nervously at Peter. “Well, I mean, would that be okay with you, Wormtail? We know you aren’t into guys—“

“Hey, I never said that,” Peter interrupted Remus. “I think I am, but not like Sirius is. I don’t…I don’t like the idea of sleeping with them, but I also don’t really like the idea of sleeping with girls either?” He paused and blushed heavily. “Mary got really upset I didn’t want to do more than kiss her, but honestly I just like holding hands with people.”

“Well, there you go,” Sirius announced, “it looks like the four of are now dating!”

“Do we go on group dates?” Peter asked nervously.

“Isn’t everything we do a group date?” Remus questioned. He was genuinely trying to figure out the logic of their dynamic now.

The marauders all glanced around at each other, shy excitement in their eyes. “What’s even going to change then?” Sirius asked the big question.

“We can always cuddle now,” Peter offered. He beamed at the others, obviously excited by the idea of cuddling.

“I have an idea!” James shouted and jumped to his feet. The other marauders followed suit, not bothering to question him. “We are going to push all of our beds together, side by side! It’ll be one giant bed.”

Peter was the first to start. “I really like this idea.” He began trying to push his bed toward James’s, which was the closest to his. He was the weakest of the group and Sirius quickly moved to his side to help him. In under an hour they had all of their beds side by side, blankets piled on top and internal curtains tucked away.

“We should’ve done this years ago,” Sirius admitted as he settled down between James and Remus. Remus was spooning Peter with an arm draped across him. Sirius’s feet were tangled with Remus’s as he rested his head on James’s chest.

“This is absolutely brilliant,” Remus murmured sleepily.

“The only bad part is having to get up in the morning,” a very quiet Peter said. The boys all silently agreed and fell asleep.

\--

For about a week, the marauders received strange looks when the switched from their usual lounging positions in the common room to all practically sitting on one another. James would spread out on a couch and rest his feet on Peter’s lap and they’d hold hands occasionally. Remus and Sirius squeezed into the comfortable armchair Sirius always sat in, fingers and legs intertwined. They all talked as they usually did; nothing was different except for their proximity to one another.

After the first week of their new dating status, everyone in Hogwarts stopped caring. The marauders never announced they were dating, but they held hands in groups of two or three in the hallways and Sirius always kissed the others on the cheek. It was obvious and everyone simply accepted it. It made the most sense.

At breakfast one day, Mary McDonald slid two galleons to Dorcas. “I knew it,” Dorcas muttered under her breath.

\--

Their friendship was normal save for a few points. Remus now took to lounging in Peter’s slightly-too-big sweaters and Sirius was always stealing the other boys’ boxers to use. During quidditch matches, instead of just cheering for Gryffindor, they boys took turns coming up with embarrassing chants for their boyfriend. Sirius’s favorite was to scream “That’s our boyfriend!” whenever James caught the snitch.

James told his parents after a bit and they both approved; the marauders were invited over for Christmas. Sirius already lived at the Potter’s home whenever he wasn’t at Hogwarts, but the others were rather excited.

Peter ended up spending the majority of break at the Potter’s house, returning home occasionally so his mother didn’t feel neglected. Remus came over, but not for Christmas day because it meant a lot to his mother for him to be there. He left for the full moon, but returned afterwards. The boys had guest rooms, but they all ended up piling into James’s queen size bed. It was a tight fit for four teenage boys and when Mrs. Potter checked on them at night, she often found them an amusing pile of tangled limbs and messy hair.

It was the best Christmas break yet.

\--

Sirius stood in front of their bathroom mirror as he worked on his half an hour long hair routine. “Okay, but how is sex going to work?” he asked out of the blue. Peter was brushing his teeth and the other two were in the shower together. Mornings went quicker now that they all got ready at the same time.

“I don’t know, but I definitely won’t be involved,” Peter stated through a mouth full of toothpaste. “Genitals really aren’t my thing.”

“We know,” James and Remus chimed together and Peter smiled contently. Peter was happy with the cuddling and light kisses, but he wasn’t a fan of much else. The rest of the marauders respected that and didn’t push his limits. Sirius just made a lot of dick jokes.

“Honestly, the logistics will be difficult,” Remus called over the sound of the shower water. “I’ve tried to figure out how we would do it, but it’s also a bit early, isn’t it?”

“We’ve only been dating four months,” James pointed out in defense of Remus.

“You two are naked and showering together,” Sirius groaned.

James popped his head out of the shower simply to wink at his other boyfriends. “Indeed we are.”

“The difference is,” Remus began to inform his boyfriend, “that there are no genitals in any orifice at the current moment.”

Peter rinsed out his mouth and put his toothbrush away. “That’s definitely my cue to leave.”

“Though, we can always change that,” James murmured into Remus’s ear and the latter turned bright pink.

“Okay, I heard that.” Sirius felt himself blushing, too. The two boys got out of the shower and dried off. Sirius leaned against the counter and made a show of watching the other two.

“Padfoot,” Remus complained under his breath. James flashed Remus a supportive smile and they got dressed.

“We never came to a conclusion,” Sirius pointed out and pouted.

“We’re leaving this as a ‘to be continued’ moment,” Remus decided.

\--

Sundays were the marauders’ lazy day. In the evenings Remus would be productive and encourage the others to study (and only succeed sometimes), but the mornings were meant for sleeping and the afternoons were saved for napping.

“I really love quidditch,” James admitted through a heavy yawn while he stretched on their bed, “but I could really go for not being so sore.”

Peter was curled up against James’s side, one arm draped across his bare chest. “It’s why I don’t play,” he teased and James laughed.

“But, really, you did a great job yesterday,” Peter told his boyfriend genuinely. His voice was sleepy and James dragged his fingers over his skin lazily.

“Thanks, Wormtail,” James murmured and closed his eyes again.

There were some grunting sounds to their left and Peter let out a load groan. “Please, for Merlin’s sake, can you not shag right now?” Peter demanded tiredly.

Sirius peaked his head over Remus, whom was lying on his side. “As I was told, shagging entails genitals in orifices and that definitely is not the currently situation.” Sirius smiled smugly and Remus chuckled under his breath.

“If it bugs you, we can nap on the couch downstairs?” James mumbled the offer to Peter.

“No, it’s fine,” Peter admitted once the other two returned to their little bubble. “I stopped caring a while ago; it’s just fun to bug them.” He let a mischievous smile sneak onto his lips, well aware the other two didn’t hear his whispered secret.

James laughed and turned on his side, now completely facing Peter. “I’ll let you drag this out then.”

\--

“You know I care about all of you quite a bit, right?” James asked one afternoon during their free period. The marauders were lounged on the grass under their favorite tree. James ran his hand through his messed up hair mindlessly. Remus had his nose buried in a book beside him. Peter was sitting with his back against the tree and running his fingers through Sirius’s hair, who was resting his head on Peter’s lap.

Sirius hummed in agreement, but didn’t open his eyes. His favorite thing was to have his hair played with; he looked his most peaceful then. Remus nodded, but didn’t pull his eyes away his book.

“We know,” Peter told James warmly. “We care about you, too.” Peter reached one hand out and squeezed James’s forearm for a moment before returning his fingers’ attention to Sirius’s too long black hair.

“It’s just…I don’t want you to forget that when I say this,” James took a deep breath before continuing. Sirius kept his eyes closed, but Remus looked up from his book now. “I still like Evans. I like you all a lot, but I like her a lot too.”

Peter smiled understandingly. “That’s alright with me.”

“Prongs, ask her out on a date,” Remus suggested. He, too, offered his boyfriend a supportive smile.

All eyes settled on Sirius when he didn’t speak up. “Hey, I’m okay with that, but if she joins us, don’t expect me to kiss her,” Sirius replied eventually. A smirk broke across his face and James let out a laugh.

“I doubt any girl is going to be okay with all of this,” James motioned to his three boyfriends, “but I figured she’s really logical and smart, maybe she would hear me out?”

“She will.” Remus had been a prefect with Lily for a while and study partners beforehand. His relationship status never came up (even though everyone knew), but she never showed any judgment. “I can’t guarantee she will understand, but she will hear you out at the least. You aren’t the prat you were in third year when you asked her out twenty times.”

Sirius let out a loud laugh. “Oh Merlin, I forgot about that! That was priceless!”

“No,” James groaned, “can we please just let that go forever?”

Remus snickered. “We definitely could not do so.”

 


	2. Plus One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fifth is added to their party!

Summer break was upon them. James had begun to spend some time around Lily and invited her to hang out with them occasionally before term ended, but Remus had agreed with his plan to ask her out in the fall. For the months in between that, the marauders spent the majority of their time at the Potter’s estate. Sirius had his own room that he never slept in. 

Remus went home only for the full moon, but he was becoming more distant with his parents. The stress of his condition had been slowly wearing on them over the years. He knew his parents loved him, but he caused them too much stress. So, he spent the majority of his summer at the Potter’s.

Peter only had his mother in his life and he made sure to visit her. He would spend a week with her every now and then. Sometimes, Remus would join him so he wouldn’t be left out. Sirius went along once, too.

The Potter’s welcome the boys like they were their own. Their summer was filled with quidditch and reading books from the family library, fresh lemonade and swimming. It was their best summer alive yet.

\--

When fall came upon them, the marauders returned to Hogwarts sad to say goodbye to the Potters. They were happy to be guardian-free again, but there was no place like home.

The first week into term, James pulled Lily aside into an empty classroom.

“Potter, whatever you—“

“Please, just hear me out?” James asked—no, pleaded. He nervously messed up his hair and his eyes begged her.

“Alright,” Lily replied rather calmly and settled down on one of the abandoned desks.

“Okay,” James replied, rather surprised. “Okay…It’s…So I like you Evans, right? We both know I’ve liked you for a long time. I was a complete prat when I was younger, there is no denying that—“ Lily scoffed “—but I like to think I’m at least slightly less prattish nowadays. Basically, I was wondering if you’d be willing to go on a date with me?” He tapped his foot quickly on the ground, his entire presence reeking of nerves.

Lily let a long silence settle in the old classroom. “Yes, I’ll go on a date with you,” she told him simply. Slowly, a smile spread onto her lips. “I think I’d quite like that.”

“Perfect!” James exclaimed, jumping slightly. She raised an eyebrow and he settled down.

“Now, would you mind walking me to the tower?” she asked. He hesitated and then shook his head.

“First, actually, I want to make sure everything is completely laid on the table; I’m going to be completely honest with you.” James took a deep breath and shakily let it out. Besides telling his parents, James hadn’t technically told anyone about his complicated relationship status. “The guys and I—Remus, Sirius, and Peter—are all dating. I know that might sound complicated and messy, but it’s actually really easy. I’m not saying you have to date them all, but you should know I’m dating three other people and they still have the right to my attention.”

Her entire expression softened. “James,” Lily started. It was rare to see James Potter like this. “I know you four are dating. Sirius doesn’t go around kissing just anyone and Peter is always nestled under one of your guys’ arms. It’s okay.”

“Are you sure? I know this is weird—really—I doubt you’ve ever seen anything like—“

“Okay, stop,” Lily cut him off politely. “It’s called a polyamorous relationship. Yes, it isn’t very common, but it’s a real type of relationship. A person can date more than one person at a time and have it be considered a ‘healthy’ relationship.”

James was completely shocked. Out of all the ways practicing the conversation with Remus as ‘Lily’, none of the results had been anywhere close to this. “It has a name?”

“Most things have a name.”

“Oh,” he replied simply.

Lily stood and brushed off the dust from her skirt. “To be clear, I wouldn’t mind dating them all after I adjust to the entire situation.”

“Okay, but it gets more complicated. I’ll leave that up to them to explain though.”

\--

Time passed and Lily practically became a marauder. Her first, second, and third date with James went well. She started studying with both Remus and Peter (whose grades picked up dramatically). She would settle onto the couch between both James and Remus and let both their limbs tangle with hers. She fit naturally with the group.

It was late October their last year as they spent the afternoon on the quidditch pitch. James was practicing with the practice snitch alone, up above their heads. The others were lying side by side on a blanket Lily had brought for them. There was a chill in the air and she stole warmth from both Peter and Sirius.

“I wanted to talk to you three without James,” Lily started. She didn’t sound nervous like the marauders usually did when they started one of their many announcements; she was calm and collected. “I know you three are all dating each other and James, obviously, and I respect that. I was wondering if I could date you all, too? It seems silly to just be technically dating James when you all are a package deal.”

“You don’t have to if you—“

“Peter, I would like to date all three of you as well. This is me asking you all out.” Lily let no fear show, but she was as worried as could be inside. The marauders had the best dynamic she had ever witnessed; to an extent, she was still an outsider. She wanted to be on the inside. They were all so sweet—despite their strange quirks.

“Look, Lily, it’s complicated,” Remus started first. He sat up and stared up at the sky so he didn’t have to meet her eyes.

“I know polyamorous relationships seem unusual, but they really aren’t that complicated,” Lily stated simply.

Remus let out a heavy sigh. “It isn’t just the relationship aspect,” he muttered.

“Remus,” Sirius murmured and sat up as well, resting a supportive hand on his shoulder.

“Is it this werewolf bit you are concerned about because that hasn’t bugged me for years.” Lily stated the fact as if it was the simplest thing on the Earth. Remus broke out in a surprised cough, pounding at his chest in an attempt to stop choking on air.

Sirius looked at Lily with wide eyes. “How did you know? Who told you? You better—“

“Sirius,” Lily sat up as well and tried to calm him. “I figured it out myself. He misses class around the full moon and he has those awful scratches. It isn’t difficult to notice when it’s someone you care about.”

“It took us over a year to notice,” Peter muttered, still lying on his back. 

Lily smiled at him and then looked back at Remus. “So, now that we all know I know about that, can I get an answer?”

“I’m gay,” Sirius stated bluntly. “I’ll hold hands with you and we can cuddle. I don’t mind female parts, but I won’t be sexually interested in you.”

Lily nodded. “I’ll respect your boundaries.”

“And I just don’t like sex in general,” Peter informed her. “I love cuddling and holding hands, but kissing is really my extent. I don’t mind people’s parts—“

“Yes you do!” Sirius cried out.

“—or at least I haven’t for over a year.” Peter winked at Sirius, who looked a mixture of angry and impressed. 

“Oh, so you’re asexual?” Lily asked.

Peter looked at her in confusion, his eyebrows furrowed together. “I’m…I’m what? No, I just don’t like sex.”

“That has a name.” She smiled at him and held his hand. “It’s called asexual. It’s a natural human sexuality. It’s mentioned in a book I have, I can lend it to you.”

“I’d like to borrow it, too,” Remus chimed in. “I’m bisexual. I’m easy to work with.” He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Wow, we have a girlfriend now, too,” Peter stated in a daze.

\--

Lily became the girlfriend of the marauders. There were some difficulties with one of her roommates. The girl called her a whore and refused to talk to her. When Lily let that slip in front of her boyfriends, there was an outburst.

“How dare she!” Sirius roared, his infamous Black temper making a comeback.

“That’s so mean,” Peter stated rather sadly. “I’m sorry, Lil.”

“Can I fight a girl? Is that allowed?” James demanded over the other two and began pacing the room.

No one noticed that Remus had stood up slowly during the yelling. He walked to the door of their boys’ dormitory and opened the door.

“Umm, Remus, what are you doing?” Lily asked, concern in her eyes.

Without turning his back, Remus replied in a calm, too-even tone: “I’m going to pack up your stuff and move it to our room. You shouldn’t be sleeping in a hostile environment; it isn’t good for your mental health.” Then he stepped out of the room.

“Wait—what?” Lily jumped up and chased after him with the other marauders on her heels. She stopped him on the staircase and made him face her. “Remus! You couldn’t even get into the girls’ dormitory!”

“I’d find a way,” he stated simply.

“No, that’s a no. You are not doing that,” she stated bluntly.

“Exactly, that’s just plain stupid,” Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. “Red here can go back her stuff herself. She can just set it at the bottom of the steps and we can move it to our room.”

“Sirius!” she cried out and turned to face him now. “No, you don’t have to do that—“

“What if we want to?” James asked. “We all sleep together every night, but you sleep alone.”

Peter took her hand gently and squeezed it. “It’s a good idea. You spend most of your time in our dorm anyways. Won’t you move in with us?”

“Okay,” Lily groaned and gave in with a large smile on her lips. “I’ll go pack my stuff. Just…stop Remus from being so creepy.”

\--

Things were perfect. Lily stole the boys’ boxers to wear as pajama shorts (she got the idea from Sirius who handed her her first pair). Her personal library became one with Remus’s and they had to make the bookcase in the room bigger. Lily made a potion for Peter to take nightly to ease his snoring and she began research in a very new, experimental potion called Wolfsbane, but didn’t tell the others.

“I think I want to go into a career with potions,” Lily stated firmly one evening as she handed Peter a dose of his potion. “I think I want to go into experimental work. I’ve already found a firm and sent in an application.”

Sirius laid spread out on their monstrosity of bed. “I want to be an auror,” he told the group. “It’ll make my parents mad as hell and it can’t possibly get boring.”

“I’ll probably join the auror training program, too,” James said with a shrug and tangled his feet with Sirius’s. Lily settled onto the bed as well and began playing with Sirius’s hair.

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” Peter murmured under his breath as he came in from the bathroom.

“I know I don’t have a lot of options,” Remus stated bitterly. His future was a very sore subject.

James propped his chin up on Sirius’s chest and looked at Remus. “Moony, I know you want a good job, but you don’t have to worry about an income. Between the four of us and my inheritance—which is enough to keep us comfortable for years without lifting a finger—you’ll be safe.”

“Great, then I’ll just been a burden, the lazy bum at home that doesn’t work,” Remus growled. “That’s just perfect.”

“Oh for Merlin’s sake,” Sirius snapped. The other three jerked back in shock while Remus just held his gaze. “You haven’t been and won’t ever be a burden to us. We are offering you a better life than what you would have without us.”

“Sirius,” Lily warned.

“No, I’m not going to coddle him on this. It won’t do him any good.” Sirius sat up and stared intensely into Remus’s eyes. “We all love you. I have for years and so have they—minus Evans, she’s new but she still loves you—“

“Thanks,” she muttered.

“—so cut it out. There’s no need for this pity party bullshit. You are going to live a happy life with us because we are here for you. We are going to take care of you! You won’t ever be living on the streets or working some sucky job if you don’t want to. Do you understand me, Remus Lupin?”

There was a long silence. No one moved for at least a solid two minutes. Lily, James, and Peter were barely even breathing.

Then, Remus was kissing Sirius. It wasn’t nice or pleasant; his fingers were yanking at his hair and his teeth were tearing at his lips. The two fell onto James who let out a startled grunt.

That night they figured out multiple-partner sex while Peter read a book and ate snacks.

\--

When Christmas came around this year, the usual situation happened: Sirius lived at the Potter’s, Remus went home until the day after Christmas, and Peter spent time at home occasionally. Lily went home for the first half of break, but then joined her boyfriends at the Potter’s estate for the latter half.

The Potters loved Lily as well as the others. Mr. Potter offered to help her find connections in the potions industry if she didn’t get into the firm she wanted.

\--

Spring term went smoothly and when exams came along, Lily helped all of her boyfriends study. Peter went into his exams feeling more confident than ever. James and Sirius got bored easily, but tried their hardest to pay attention. When Lily wanted to get in extra hours, Remus joined her. When they tried to add more hours onto that, their other boyfriends dragged them to bed.

During exams week, Lily received an owl telling her she got accepted to her firm (conditionally. She’d have to send them her NEWT results).

\--

The marauders plus Lily graduated with good marks. Lily was at the top of their class with Remus scraping a close second. Peter didn’t get perfect results, but they were better than ever before. Even Sirius and James scored better than they averagely did (which was quite high).

After graduation, they all did their usual routine of spending some time with their separate families and the majority at the Potter’s estate. After two months of that habit and excessive house searching, they found a small house for the five of them.

Lily insisted they could have waited and all pitched in instead of James just up and buying the place already.

“We can work up to a house,” Lily offered. “It’s a sweet gesture—“

“If Remus is to be comfortable in his home, he needs a place he can safely transform on the full moon. This place is relatively small, but has a large basement suitable for him,” James stated firmly. “We don’t have time to wait to save up as a team. I don’t think Remus should have to go to his parents’ on the full moon.”

“James, you don’t have to do this for me,” Remus argued.

Sirius rolled his eyes and came to James’s defense. “Do you think the five of us can fit into an apartment comfortably? Our bedroom is just going to be a large bed with no left over room. We’ll need a room as an office for paperwork we bring home and the entire library you two have collected. It’d also be nice to have a room where Lily can practice her potions at home.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Peter admitted and shared a supportive smile with the other two who looked uncomfortable.

“They do have a point…” Lily muttered to Remus.

“Fine!” Remus caved. He tried to look bitter, but he wasn’t good at fighting a smile.


	3. Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the rest of their lives.

At the end of summer, the house was bought and the group moved into their new home. It was cozy—James purposely didn’t go all out because he knew it would make Remus and Lily uncomfortable. They had just enough time to move their belongings and settle in before their new routine started. James and Sirius got accepted into the auror program and had to start training. Lily spent long days at the potions firm. Peter and Remus worked together to find jobs. They’d find them here or there, but lots of company owners didn’t want Remus involved in their business.

This routine continued for months. Remus and Peter would work for a bit and when Remus would get fired, Peter would leave with him. Everyone could tell Remus was on edge not being able to show he was more than his condition.

It didn’t help that Lily started coming home very angry. She wouldn’t tell them what she was working on, but she would rant for hours about what bigots her coworkers and employers were without any real specifics. She cried some days from the stress and others she screamed into her pillow for minutes at a time. Between Lily and Remus wearing down, the entire relationship was strained.

\--

“I can’t handle this!” Lily screamed one evening after she flooed home. It was a Sunday and everyone happened to be home, which was a rare occasion now. “I hate my fucking job! If I have to spend one more day listening to my boss go on about this fucking potion and talk about how I could ‘be doing better’,” she used air quotes to emphasize the phrase, “I will commit murder! They’re all rude and condescending and I can’t do it!” She collapsed onto their couch and broke out in a sob. “I can’t handle it! I can’t do it…I can’t…”

The men didn’t know what to do for a moment. Her outburst had been sudden and completely unsuspected. Peter unfroze first and moved to her side. He wrapped his arms around her and made gentle soothing sounds. Sirius sat on her other side and gently stroked her hair while James and Remus sat directly in front of her on the ground. James stroked her leg and Remus raised his hands to hers and carefully pulled them away from her face.

“Love, can you tell us what happened?” Remus asked softly.

“And it’s okay if you want to quit. We’ll support you in whatever you want to do,” Sirius told her. He wasn’t the best at comforting, but he was going to try his best.

Lily nodded and wiped her tears away. “I didn’t want to tell you in case it didn’t work,” Lily admitted and looked directly at Remus. “There’s this potion wizards have been theorizing about for two years now called Wolfsbane. The goal of it would be to lessen a werewolf’s transformation.” Remus’s eyes widened. “I-I mean, you would still transform, but the goal would be to help you keep some of your consciousness. You’d have less potential of causing harm to yourself or others and I know how much that worries you.”

“That’s…That’s the sweetest thing ever,” Remus murmured and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.

Lily let out a soft sob and smiled. “The thing is, they’re so mean and not towards me. They are creating the potion for all the wrong reasons and some of the things they say are so terrible.” Her rage began to boil again. “This firm isn’t even that competent! They sounded great and all, but they hardly know what they are doing when it comes to inventing something! I can apply to other places—I know—but what if the people there are just as rude? I can’t stand listening to them talk bad about werewolves all day.” Lily felt all the tension leave her body. After so long of keeping that all quiet from her partners, it felt so good to be open about it. 

They helped Lily settle down on the couch after a bit. Remus got her favorite book for her and Sirius played with her hair while she read. Peter and James cooked dinner together. That evening they all sat down together for a meal and then made sure to cuddle Lily a lot in bed.

\--

A week passed and Lily returned to work regardless. She came home upset still, but she was able to fully express her anger now.

One evening, James called a family meeting. He and Sirius sat in separate armchairs while currently unemployed Remus and Peter sat on either side of Lily on the couch.

“I need all three of you to promise to hear my idea all the way out before you speak.” James looked very serious and Sirius nodded in support.

“Umm…alright,” Remus agreed. The other two nodded and Sirius smirked at how easy it was.

“Okay. I have a lot of money. When I say a lot, you three really can’t comprehend how much that is. Sirius understands to an extent because he grew up in a similar economic class, but I know you three haven’t so please understand money isn’t and never will be an issue for us.” James took a moment to breathe and let that settle in for his loved ones.”

“Going from there,” he continued, “your happiness is worth more than any amount of gold to me. Remus and Lily, you are both obviously not happy and I know Peter is growing bored with unemployment pretty quickly. Sirius and I have been talking and we came up with an idea that helps all of us.

“I want us to start a potions business.” He let the statement settle. “Lily, you can work on the wolfsbane potion under your own conditions in the lab the business would have. The potion isn’t under patent and won’t be until it finishes, plus your final product probably won’t be similar to theirs seeing as you actually care and they don’t. Remus and Peter can run the storefront part of the business which would cover the expense of the wolfsbane research once we start making a surplus. My dad has already agreed to help you three come up with a business plan. Sirius and I would only put our names on the project as a retirement plan since it’s dangerous being an auror for life. You’ll all have a job, no one will judge Remus because we love him, he’s great a potions, and Lily will get to do her research. Plus, Peter is great with people and customers will love him. Eventually you can hire help if you want. It’s all yours.”

The three sat quiet for a long time. Lily looked back and forth to the men on either side of her. Sirius and James were very patient as their loved ones mulled over the idea.

“I…That isn’t a bad idea,” Lily offered. “It sounds like a dream come true, really.”

“That’s too much—“ Remus began, but the look Sirius gave him was enough for him to stop.

“Moony, it isn’t too much. If this potion works, so many lives will be helped. This was initially an idea for the purely selfish reason of wanting you three to be happy, but it developed into this. It’ll be good for society.” Sirius smirked because he knew he was right. Everyone knew he was right.

“I guess we are going to be business owners soon, then,” Peter stated simply and smiled his lopsided grin. 

\--

Lily quit her job the next day and the trio set to work. With the help of Mr. Potter, they built a business plan and by the next summer they had the shop up and running.  _ Marauders Brews and Supplies _ fared well with the public. Peter ran the front of the shop really well. It was organized and neat and everyone said their customer service was wonderful. Remus helped in the front on particularly busy days and on others he helped Lily develop her potion.

\--

When Christmas came around, as it always did, they ended up at the Potter’s estate again. They sat around their large table and just enjoyed the company of their all but adopt family.

Then the parents had to be serious.

“So, when do you all plan on getting married?” Mrs. Potter asked. Sirius choked on his ham and James hit his back in an attempt to save him. Remus and Peter stared wide-eyed at Mrs. Potter and were speechless. Lily was the only one not startled.

“I wasn’t aware there was a way for the five of us to get married,” Lily stated, curiosity in her eyes. “I’m not too familiar with the wizard society’s bonding ceremonies.”

“Oh, my sweet girl, it is definitely possible,” Mrs. Potter replied kindly. “It’s less common, that’s for sure, but it’s very possible. I have a book in the library that contains the bonding ceremony if you’d like to look at it.”

“I would love to borrow it.” Lily beamed at Mrs. Potter and both women shared a mischievous look.

\--

“So who’s going to be the one to bring it up?” Sirius asked as they all lay in bed that night. They put two queen size beds together when they moved in to form the new version of the mega bed.

“That question makes you the one to bring it up,” Remus said with a roll of his eyes.

James sighed. “You all know how my mom is. She’s sweet and all, but she’s so nosy.”

“I like your mom,” Peter piped up and Sirius grunted in agreeance.

Lily sat up and looked at her boyfriends. “I think it’s a good idea. I know we all plan to spend forever together anyways, but a bonding ceremony makes it official in the eyes of the government and that’s important.”

“I never thought I’d get married,” Remus murmured. “I know that sounds sad and self-pitying, but it was just such a far stretched idea. Now, here I am, lying in bed with my four partners. We run a business. I’m happy.” He paused for a long moment and let a small smile shape his lips. “I like the idea of getting married.”

“I just like weddings,” Sirius admitted and Lily giggled. “Stop it. I’ve been to a lot Black family weddings and other society ones. Those were such a nightmare. I’d like to see a small wedding like they show in those movies-thingies you show us, Lily.”

“They are called movies. You had it right and just added ‘thingies’ to it to make it sound like you don’t know what they are. Sirius, you know how to use that tv better than everyone else,” Lily said firmly and he just rolled his eyes.

“My mom probably just had a heart attack and has no idea why,” Sirius joked and Remus coughed out a laugh.

James rolled and rested his cheek on Peter’s chest so he could look at the rest of his partners. “I guess we are getting married then.”

“I guess so,” Lily replied with a smile. Sirius sat up and kissed her on the cheek with a cheesy grin.

“I can finally change my last night!” Sirius cheered.

“Who’s would you take?” Lily asked.

Remus was the first to shake his head. “I hate my last name. It fucking means ‘wolf’. What type of crap is that? I get that life has a sense of humor, but that was just cruel. I’ll take whoever’s last name Sirius takes.”

“I’m rather indifferent toward my last name,” Peter chimed in. “I’ll change mine too.”

Lily and James looked at each other. They shared the look for a long moment as they both thought. “It makes more sense for me to take your last name,” Lily pointed out. “The inheritance is in your name and your family probably wants you to keep the Potter name. Plus, your last name means something in this society. It’s a good name.” She shrugged and smiled. “I’ll give up my last name too.”

“Wow,” James breathed and looked at his boyfriends and girlfriend. “We will be the Potter family then.”

No one spoke after that. They all got comfortable in bed and just let the idea settle over them.

\--

They didn’t have a fancy engagement. James got some heirlooms from Gringotts for them all. Lily got a pretty thin ring with a small red ruby on it with diamonds on  both sides. The men all got various Potter heirlooms meant for the heads of the family to wear.

Sirius cried when he put the ring on. He didn’t want to be a Black, but he still had so much of their traditions locked in him. He had always mourned for the heirlooms he would never get from his family—not for their cash value but for the sentimental one. Now, he had heirlooms again. His father was right when he said he was meant to wear his family’s heirlooms, he just had the which family part wrong.

\--

Sirius, Peter, and Mrs. Potter planned the entire ceremony. Lily and Remus were too busy with their potion brewing and they hated the idea of all that work. James tried to help, but was quickly ushered away when he suggested clashing colors. When he wasn’t working as an auror, he would help around the shop to make up for the time Peter had to take off to plan.

The engagement lasted six long months.

\--

When the big day came around, Sirius and Peter were beyond stressed. Sirius insisted everything had to be perfect. It was like a little, mini society wedding minus all the awful, prejudice guests. All of their families came (it took a long time to explain to the Evans’ family), minus the Blacks. Sirius had his cousin Andromeda and her husband come as his family. Lily invited Petunia and her awful child and husband. She invited Snape, who replied with a rude message which James happily lit on fire. They had their old professors come as well as some of their old classmates.

The ceremony was perfect. Sirius and Peter had everything planned down to the tee. They didn’t invite anyone that could possibly ruin the atmosphere (minus the Dursley’s). When Lily walked down the aisle in her simple white dress, all her fiancees teared up, including Sirius. They all got bonded together with a beautiful spell that glowed a warm red, and then the reception started.

The five of them spent their evening drinking and dancing together and with family and friends. The party went on late into the evening and then the newly married group started their honeymoon.

\--

Marriage suited them all well. A year passed of perfect bliss. Sirius and James’ auror work balanced out and they spent any extra time at the shop. Their store was prospering. It was mentioned in the paper several times and eventually a Malfoy owned company offered to buy them out.

They turned them down.

\--

When Christmas dinner came around a year and a half into their marriage, they gathered at the Potter’s estate per usual.

This year, they had another heavy topic to discuss:

“So, when should I be expecting grandchildren?” Mrs. Potter asked. Sirius choked on his ham again. Peter choked on his champagne and ended up spitting in his own cup. Remus was completely frozen in his seat and James just looked around, absolutely puzzled.

Lily came to the rescue again.

“We haven’t discussed it yet simply because the logistics are complicated. Obviously I’d have to be the one carrying the baby to term since none of my spouses have uteruses—“ Peter choked on more champagne. “—but choosing the father is complex.”

“Well, if you need any help with anything, you just let me know,” Mrs. Potter said politely and smiled at her daughter-in-law.

\--

“I’ll do it,” Remus sighed, “I’ll be the one to bring it up. What about children?”

“I’ve always wanted one or two,” Lily admitted in a dreamy sigh. Sirius gave her a questioning side glance.

James cleared his throat. “I’d like one, too, and it’d also be nice to have an heir.” Sirius grunted in understanding.

“Babies are pretty cute,” Peter said happily.

“Okay, keep in mind we’ll be raising a baby with five parents and one of which is a werewolf,” Remus pointed out, completely deadpan.

“I don’t think five parents would be an issue. They’ll just have a lot of role models and plenty of attention. We also wouldn’t need a nanny,” Lily replied, simply ignoring Remus’s werewolf comments. Everyone followed her lead.

“Okay, but who will get you pregnant?” Sirius asked. “Because I’m sure as hell not putting my body parts in you and, well, the Blacks are known for being sort of…insane. I don’t want to pass on any bad traits.”

“I really don’t want to have sex,” Peter added just for the sake of saying it. He knew they all understood.

“I’m a werewolf and there isn’t research on the genetic passing of the condition really, so I’ll pass,” Remus stated with a sigh.

“Well, honey, it looks like it’s just you and I left to make a baby,” James said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Peter burst out laughing.

\--

It didn’t take many tries for Lily to get pregnant with the assistance of potions. When she found out she was pregnant, she cried tears of happiness with James and Remus. Peter couldn’t stop coming up with ideas for the nursery which would replace the unused potions lab in the back room. Sirius stared at Lily’s stomach with wide eyes for the rest of the evening, a ridiculous smile glued onto his face.

She worked as long as it was comfortable to do so. Once it was too hard to stay on her feet all day, she left the research to Remus while she lounged in the shop. She didn’t like the idea of being home alone and everyone worked during the day, so she stayed near two of her husbands.

During the evenings they were all home, at least one of her husbands would talk to the baby or read to it. Sirius had a habit of kissing Lily’s belly, which was possibly Lily’s favorite gesture.

\--

It was July 31 when Harry James Potter was born. Peter and Remus hugged each other, crying as Lily held their baby. Sirius leaned over the bed and very quietly asked to hold Harry. Lily nodded with a smile and slid the baby into Sirius’s arms. Sirius Potter didn’t cry often, but a tear slid down his cheek as he looked at his son. James sat on the bed next to Lily and just beamed at his husband and best friend.

\--

Harry was never without attention. The shop made enough profit that they hired someone part time to work in the shop, allowing Lily, Remus, and Peter to rotate taking turns staying home with Harry. Sirius and James spent every moment off work with their son. He was spoiled rotten.

At age one, Sirius and James bought Harry his first little broom which gave both Remus and Lily a heart attack. Peter just cheered dramatically as he flew around their home. Harry would race (the fastest pace was still relatively slow) throughout their home or in their backyard. James was already trying to teach him quidditch tips.

“He’ll be a seeker, too,” Sirius murmured as they all sat in the grass and watched James with Harry.

\--

When Harry was two, they decided to have another baby. She was a little girl with fiery red hair to match her mother’s. They named her Peony Lyra Potter to carry on both the Evans’ and Black’s family traditions.

With a second child around, they decided to move into a bigger house. This one had enough rooms so both children could have their own, Lily and Remus could have their library, and they all had a bedroom to share. The yard was big enough for Harry to ride his broom still.

\--

Life was so perfect for the Potters. They explained to their children when they were young that their dad, Remus, was a werewolf. They were raised in a household where the idea was normalized. Werewolves weren’t the villains in any of the media they saw. It was a positive environment and, eventually, Remus grew more comfortable with his identity.

James and Sirius moved up the ranks of the auror department over the years. They still went away on missions occasionally, but they were more spread out. James was promoted to the head of the department, which Sirius was grateful. He had been dreading the extra responsibilities.

The shop continuing to prosper. Lily and Remus felt they were close to finishing their potion and had started testing trials. Lily, Remus, and Peter continued to rotate staying home with Harry and Peony during the week.

Harry was seven and Peony was six when Lily administered the last trial of the wolfsbane potion to Remus. When he woke up the next day and told her it worked, everyone in the family cried—even Sirius. Harry and Peony couldn’t completely comprehend what was happening because they didn’t understand the risk Remus could pose, but they danced around the house in excitement regardless.

\--

Both children attended Hogwarts. Harry was in Gryffindor and Peony was in Ravenclaw. Over the years, Harry became the team seeker and by the time he was a seventh year, he was captain of the quidditch team. Peony was one of the best chasers the Ravenclaw house had ever witness and also had the best marks in her year.

The Potters were happy. Lily and Remus continued developing potions and made sure wolfsbane was accessible to whomever needed it. Peter and Mr. Potter ended up opening other stores in wizarding Britain, which Peter kept an eye over. James retired first to help them in the shop and escape the bureaucracy that was the Ministry, but Sirius stayed on the task force for years afterwards. They were all happy and that’s what mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this rather ridiculous story! Thanks for reading.


End file.
